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I'm still planning to solve that problem for my DC this weekend. And will use RTV sealant this time. Now, should I apply the sealant on the surface first, then gasket on top of it or gasket on the suface first, then apply sealant on the gasket? Thanks!
Now, at 42,000 miles, I'm giving up and buying a Sienna. Chrysler has let me down.
Here are some of the problems I have with my 2001:
- Car pops into neutral every 4-6 weeks. I was driving 65 mph and my car dropped into neutral. A few weeks ago, my daughter was in the back seat. I started to cross a busy highway and the car popped into neutral. I almost got rear-ended!!! That's it. It is too dangerous. The dealer has told me for the past 10,000 miles that they can't fix it because they can't reproduce it. So I guess they just expect me to continue driving until I crash!
- The power door locks don't work anymore.
- The sliding door doesn't slide open during the winter months.
- Interior lights go on/off without being turned on/off.
- Car doesn't start at times. Takes 10 to 15 minutes of waiting.
In all of the cases above, Chrysler told me they can't fix the problem because it doesn't happen in front of them. The service manager was right next to me when the power door lock didn't work. He saw it and agreed!
Had the many problems with our 96 Voyager as well.
I stopped into at least 10 dealerships. Decided to try Sienna.
Bev
I have had good luck with almost all the dealers here in Indy after I go out of my way to establish a relationship with one person.
Anyhow, my family and I are driving to Florida from Ohio (about 20 hours) next week so I am not excited about having something amiss in the front end before the trip. The service guy told me everything is fine and safe for the trip but I told him to check it again so he is. Has anyone else had anything like this happen where something has broken or come loose in the front suspension or front end that was not easily identified? I just really hate the thought of driving with my family all that way there and back when I know something isnt right.
Sorry for the long post.
Thanks, Dennis
Please allow me to vent in this forum.
The Plymouth has to have been the most unreliable vehicle I have ever owned. From the day I took delivery (where the driver's door colour didn't match the rest of the vehicle), to the week I traded it in, the vehicle had been nothing short of a nightmare.
In 95K km's (57K miles) here is a short history of the major repairs it required:
-tranny failed.
-emergency brake mechanism failed.
-windshield cracked (dealer said improper installation on the assembly line)
-water pump failed.
-serpentine belt pretensioner failed.
-front wiper motor replaced due to 'wiper ghost' problem, then replacement failed.
-rear wiper motor failed.
-front heater blower motor failed
-A.C. compressor failed
-A.C. evaporator failed (leak) a year later
-A.C. condensor failed (leak) a year after that
-rear hatch pwr lock actuator failed
-rear cooling vent (rear A.C.) seized, replaced.
-driver's door weatherstrip fell apart.
-front passenger door weatherstrip fell apart.
-ABS brake module failed
-trim strip on rear hatch fell off - replaced under warranty 3 times (turns out it's held on by double faced tape that dries out).
-fuel pump/fuel level sensor module replaced due to inaccurate fuel level readings.
-front rotors rotted out in first 18 months, replaced with Raybestos rotors, which have lasted 6 yrs and are still good. (muffler shop that put in the Raybestos rotors said Chrysler OEM rotors are made of composite steel which is basically a bunch of compressed Coke cans.
-wiring block under dash 'collapsed as the dealer called it' and had to be replaced.
-wiring block on firewall shorted out causing heater blower motor to work only 1 speed, replaced.
-sliding doors on both sides of the vehicle kept going out of adjustment so many times I finally gave up and lived with the wind noise.
-fuel tank collapsed internally, causing erratic fuel level readings, extended warranty wouldn't cover it, dlr wanted $400 for new tank...I said forget it and lived with it.
More annoying than all the failures was the arrogant attitude of Chrysler Canada.
When I bought the van, salesperson said buy the powertrain warranty as there are known tranny issues. I did. ($750 CDN)
When I realized what a lemon I had, while the van was still under the bumper to bumper manufacturer's 3 yr/60K km warranty, I decided I'd better purchase bumper to bumper extended warranty. Chrysler Canada refused to let me upgrade (pay them more money) the extended warranty, which had not yet even come in to effect. They said that "once you make an extended warranty choice, that's it, you are stuck with it." I then asked if I could abandon the power train warranty (lose my $750) and purchase a new "bumper to bumper extended warranty"...Chrysler Canada said NO, only one extended warranty allowed per vehicle.
I sent a letter to Chrysler Canada customer service pleading with them to let me buy an extended warranty, and I tried to get them to see the logic in the fact that had I not yet purchased any extended warranty, I was still within the OEM 3 yr warranty, and could have bought one, had I not bought at time of van purchase. Chrysler Canada refused.
Keep in mind that the dealer did try to go to bat for me with the "district rep" to no avail!
Then dealer suggested I buy Chrysler used vehicle extended warranty...filled out the paperwork and Chrysler Canada bounced the application, saying that since I was the original owner of the vehicle, it wasn't a used vehicle and therefore I couldn't purchase a used vehicle warranty.
So dealer sold me an aftermarket warranty from a company called Fadaguard, for $1000 CDN.
I made over $6,000 in claims on that extended warranty!
The warranty was good till 104K kms or Aug 30 2003 which ever came first, and since I couldn't afford to drive the vehicle without a warranty since it was so unreliable, I traded it in last week on a 2004 Sienna LE - 8 pass.
Daimler Chrysler was quoted in one of the Toronto papers in the last month as wondering why they are losing a significant percentage of their market share...duh...with products like the one I had, it doesn't take a genius to figure out why!
- Rob
Tomtomtom, have you had this problem with your van, or is this a widespread problem that I had not heard about?
Thanks to those that responded to my earlier post.
Later,
Rob
I am the original owner of a 98 grand voyager which has just turned 130,000 miles. (I drive 84 miles round trip to work and back). It has the original 6 cylinder mitsubihi engine with the original 3 speed automatic transmission. When I searched Edmunds 5 years ago, everyone recommended this engine and tranmission (and no other!). Good advice so far.
I have replaced brakes and battery once, and all belts and hoses twice. Last year I had the A/C recharged and it is still going strong. I change oil every 5000 miles. No other problems. The car looks and runs GREAT, so far.
The guys at Uncle Ed's Oil Change tell me they've seen a lot of these (fleet vans) approach 200K.
What has been your experience? Am I lucky?
"DODGE MINIVAN BRAKE DESIGN PROBLEM
Despite my wife’s mild and careful driving style, our 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan has for the second time in 24,000 miles of lightly laden suburban use (not in mountains) gradually developed uneven braking said to be because of warped rotors (all round on this model). Machining the rotors under warranty solved the problem for only a few thousand miles before it started again, gradually worsening as before. Both the dealer service manager and our local garage service manager say that this is a common problem on this model because the rotors are too thin. Chrysler HQ (“Contact us”) does not contest the diagnosis but says it’s out of warranty. Questions: are you aware of this model's problem, and is it possible to fit heavier duty rotors (although the dealer has none) rather than endure the same problem again with the new ones (current ones are too thin to machine again and that would in any case just hasten the return of the problem)? Also should Chrysler own up on this one, any safety concerns?"
The muffler place that installed the new rotors told me that Chyrsler OEM rotors are made in China & are composite steel, ie made of multiple thin layers of steel compressed, sort of like a flaky pastry...or as the muffler guy phrased it, "made of compressed Chinese Coke cans".
Total expenditure was about $270 delivered. I installed them myself easily.
Highly recommended at least from my point of view.
Replaced rotors and breaks.. i think its not due to that.
Secondly the steering goes tighter if i have to do a tight parallel parking. i mean go forward and back (NY City streets Normally it is good though. Is it normal..
In our case, we have a head gasket problem with a 1998 Voyager 2.4L engine, which is past it's 36K mile/36 month warranty (Did the 1998 Voyager have a 7 year powertrain warranty?)
Had a independent shop determine we had a blown head gasket, while doing other work on the van. They did not replace the gasket (also thought our local dealer indicated we should keep a eye out for a blown head gasket last time we had the van in for non-warranty work)
I've read about TSBs, secret warranties, extended warranties, and good will assistance that DC will offer to fix these problems, possibly for free.
See:
http://neons.org/neontsb/TSB/09/090598.htm
http://www.lemonaidcars.com/secret_warranties.htm
I called 1-800-992-1997 for DC Customer Service, described the above (they were quite helpful) and ended up with a reference number for my local dealer to replace the head gasket (after they determine it is not a valve cover leak, which I would have to pay in full for), BUT I have a $200 co-pay, based on the the mileage of 52K
Has anyone with a 1998 2.4L Voyager past 36K miles had DC replace their head gasket for free or less than $200, going through DC's Customer Service group?
Any thoughts on how I can lower, if not wipe out, my co-pay?
Thanks in advance.
I had three head gasket repairs. The first two were under warranty - the last one was at 77,000 miles and, after a brief conversation with the service manager, I paid $150 for that repair. I could have raised a bigger stink since it had been fixed twice before, but I didn't want to push my luck too hard since I was out of warranty.
As I recall, shops usually ground the head in place instead of removing it and sending it to a machine shop. Some people blamed this procedure for the repairs failing.
I asked that the head be reground at a machine shop at the last repair but I don't know if they actually did anything different. I drove it another 22,000 miles without further problem until I traded it.
Considering that your warranty has expired and the mileage, and that this is the first gasket problem you've had, your co-pay doesn't seem too bad to me.
Steve, Host
My wife currently has the van at work, but when she comes home, I'll look it up in the warranty book to verify if the van has a 7/70 Powertrain Warranty, if so, I would think that should cover the cost of replacing the head gasket, no?
DC Customer Service response and my dealers comment about keeping a eye out for the known problem of blown head gaskets for our engine (yet not offering to take care of it), make me think I won't be able to go the 7/70 route for a free fix.
If not, just seeing if DC has a precedent for fixing this problem for free, perhaps due to a 'secret extended warranty' on head gaskets.
Will post a update when I have one available...thanks again.
Our Voyager wasn't the most reliable vehicle in the world, but it mostly served us well, and I still like the 5 seat, short wheel base "boxier" style better than most of the new vans out there.
We did one 11,000 mile trip in it from Anchorage to NY and back (with a few detours) and hauled a full cedar chest, canoe, bikes and a bunch of other junk in it without complaint. The little 4 banger had enough oomph surprisingly, and from the 3.0L reports I've read, we probably had fewer problems with those with the six cylinder and 4 speed tranny.
Sorry for the trip down memory lane! Good luck with the gasket fix.
Steve, Host
This did not fix the problem, we have had it in 3 times and they have rotated the tires, re-adjusted the alignment etc but it still wants to wander. Strange thing is, it does not only wander to the left but also to the right. You have to constantly correct the steering yet the head mechanic says it is the way the Caravan handles. The dealership allowed us to try another Caravan, same model. year and mileage and it was much better.
Anyone had this problem and know what it might be? The dealership has promised to fix it but we need to figure it what to fix !
You can email us at candlemaker@telus.net if you have any info. Thanks for the help.
If you are still reading these posts, please let me know if you figured out what was causing the pulling. We are having the same problem, thanks, Judi
We have a '96 Grand Voyager and never had any such problem.
Just a thought,
Rob
We were thinking of the tires but they did rotate them from back to front. It still does the same thing. We have a friend who was service manager for a tire outfit for years and he also thinks it is the tires.His Grand Caravan drives nice and strait.
We were thinking of taking it to an alignment shop, not saying we have a problem and see what they find.
Another friend thinks it is a twisted frame since the body and tires do not look to be lined up right.With the body style and the color( red) it can be deceiving. The dealership has vowed to see this through with us but how much do we spend and for how long? We only bought this van on May 1/03.We felt the pull on the way home on the highway.You feel it at lower speeds but the roads in the city are rough from the frost
( Northern Alberta) and it is hard to tell
anything.
I'll keep posting with anything new.
You know, before you posted this I was thinking, "it sounds like a twisted unibody." Where did you buy this van? Have you checked its history to see if it's been in a wreck? A body shop should be able to check the unibody alignment.
We are thinking of demanding they trade us to another we can live with.
This usually happens to my wife, she being the principle driver, so it's not first hand experience, but here's the issue: When braking on damp pavement, usually asphalt, the vehicle will SLIDE rather than come to a smooth stop. This has happened on numerous occasions and the last time it occurred she ended up diving for the ditch instead of plowing into two vehicle in front of her. The ABS has cut in, but to no avail. Thanks to ABS she'll slide straight, but not come to a sane stop.
My question to the forum is; has anyone else had this happen to them? When stopping on damp pavement, asphalt in particular, have your front tires lost grip with the pavement and the vehicle actually slid to a stop???
We think perhaps that it may be because of the construction of the van, its higher center of gravity, and when the brakes are applied the mass rotates forward and most of the force is on the front tires touching the ground at only two relatively small patches. The rear breaks are virtually helpless. Any thoughts, and certainly any instances of the same phenomena?
Also, has anyone heard of any other mini-vans experiencing the same problems?
They adjusted the alignment yet again and something to do with frame adjustment. Our salesman told us that it should now be as good as new. On the drive home it was much better. Not perfect but much better.
They are going out of their way to please us so we are happy about that.
Will keep you posted of anything further. Thanks
Steve, Host
To gentleman w/braking problems. We've never had that problem w/our '96. The only time we've slid when braking is on severe ice in Winter. We don't have anti-lock brakes but our tires are in good shape.
Thanks,
Rob
All we know is that it's very disconcerting to my wife who experiences it only when the pavement is slightly damp.
Thanks again and we'll wait and see if anyone else has had the experience.